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What Does It Mean When Gutters Are Overflowing?

Having your gutters overflow can be a cause of any number of issues for your home or business. Water that isn’t properly drained can lead to damage for your roof, foundation, or landscaping. Often, overflowing gutters can be resolved by periodic cleaning, but maybe you’re noticing overflow in your gutters despite having been recently cleaned! In these cases, there are other factors that may come into play.

Check the pitch of your gutters- When gutters are installed, they are set with a “pitch” that is an incline from where your downspout connects to the gutters to the far end of your roof. This allows water to flow down the gutter to the downspout. If your gutters have started to sag, this pitch may have come out of kilter, causing water to collect in your gutters and not drain correctly. If your gutters were improperly installed or a bad repair was done, the pitch may have been set too steep, which would cause the water to rush and overflow your gutters. Either way, readjustment of the gutters to allow for a correct pitch will ensure a smooth even flow to the downspouts.

Check the size of your gutters-  You might have tried to save some money at some point and bought gutters for your building that weren’t the appropriate size for your roof. These might do the trick for lighter rains, which don’t produce much volume and seem like a safe bet. However, gutters that aren’t appropriately sized for your roof won’t be able to cope with a heavier rain. What seemed like a good way to save on initial costs ends up being a larger cost down the road. Replacing your cheaper gutters with the correct size is essential to preventing long term damage. It’s also possible that when gutters were installed they weren’t correctly, and don’t match the full length of your roof edge. Small differences in size at the ends of the gutters may not look like a big deal from the ground looking up, and indeed if a lighter rain comes it may not make a huge difference. However, when heavier rains come by, this can represent a large amount of water pouring off incorrectly. Depending on the style of gutters used, this may require a complete reinstall or a simple extension.

Check the height of your gutters. - When your gutters are installed, they’ll need to be placed at an appropriate level in relation to the edge of your roof. If your gutters are placed too low, water will run off the roof and right past the gutters. An installation that’s concerned with being quick and easy may try to place the gutters by simple sight, increasing the likelihood of this kind of mismatch. Sagging gutters can also cause this issue. Usually this is because of cheap and flimsy brackets used when installing the gutters in the first place, but even a high quality bracket may sag given a longer period of time.

Ultimately, all of these issues can be identified and resolved by a gutter professional. This is part of the benefits of hiring people who truly know gutters to take care of even occasional cleaning and will catch these kinds of issues before they become more serious. Give us a call today!